upward dating app

Upward App Review: A Dating Paradise For Christians or Just Another Scam?

by John Santana

Modern dating can present challenges for Christians. The Upward dating app aims to resolve the challenge. A Christian dating app, Upward is specifically designed to help men and women connect with other like-minded singles who share common values, beliefs, interests, and goals and who are located within close proximity to you, as well as around the world.

In today’s fast-paced, technologically-driven world, it can be hard for Christians to discern whether or not they should use a dating app. Can Christians find meaningful, long-term relationships that may one day lead to marriage and a family? If you’re considering using Upward, it’s important to know if the site is worth it.

We’ve reviewed its pros, cons, features, and more. With the information presented in the following review, hopefully, you will be able to determine if using Upward is the right choice for you.

Upward At a Glance

Upward advantages

  • Specifically designed for Christians who are looking for serious and committed faith-based relationships with other Christians who share similar values, goals, and beliefs.
  • The app interface is easy to use (it’s quite similar to Tinder, another popular dating app)
  • Profiles are verified
  • All Christian affiliations are welcomed.
  • Fast sign-up time

Upward disadvantages

  • It’s a relatively new app, so at the time of writing, the number of profiles was limited, especially when compared to other dating apps.
  • There aren’t many search filters.
  • Only app-based; it isn’t available for desktop.
  • Sign-up can only be completed with a phone number.

Our rating: 6/10

Final verdict: Upward is essentially Tinder, another popular dating app, but for Christians. The interface functions in much the same way as Tinder in that you view users’ profiles and swipe left if you aren’t interested in someone or right if you are.

If you get a mutual match (you and another user both swiped to the right, indicating that both of your interests were piqued by one another’s profiles). Then you will receive a notification, and a chat will be initiated. While this style of dating might work for some, it’s important to note that it seems to be more geared toward casual relationships.

That’s because, for Christians especially, the process of finding someone to start a relationship with should be more serious and intimate, and the Upward app streamlines that process. Furthermore, it’s largely based on physical attraction. As mentioned, users scroll through user profiles and while they can read the details of user profiles, let’s be honest; physical features are what users will largely be paying attention to.

Since most Christian-centered singles are looking for committed, long-term relationships with individuals who share the same faith, beliefs, views, and goals, it’s clear how Upward disconnects the dating process.

Furthermore, there aren’t any reliable boundaries on the app that protect Christians from things that they might not want to view. For instance, when scanning through user profiles, you can instantly see that there are quite a few scantily clad men and women, which isn’t exactly a wholesome environment.

Finally, upon reading the fine print, we discovered that they might share your profile with other people on other apps without your permission. Clearly, this isn’t a good thing. When you join an app, most people would probably prefer to keep their dealings with the app they signed up with and not have their information handed to other apps at random.

To summarize, in our opinion, Upward is just Tinder with the word “Christian” on the front of it. It doesn’t offer the features and boundaries that are necessary to ensure the site is actually suitable for singles who hold a Christian worldview. For these reasons, we gave the app a rating of 6 out of 10.

Upward In-Depth Review

As mentioned, upward is a Christian dating app that is geared toward helping singles who hold a Christian worldview and share common beliefs, interests, and goals find one another. You can use the app to connect with Christian singles who are near you or who are located anywhere around the world.

The developers of Upward claim that they are committed to creating a safe, secure, and fun space where Christian singles can find one another, with the goal of developing meaningful relationships, on an online platform.

The app, formerly known as FTH, was re-launched in 2020 after being revamped with the aim of helping Christian singles connect with one another at a time when billions of people were locked down during the covid crisis. Thanks to an aggressive marketing campaign, it quickly caught the attention of users.

It was pegged as the fasted-growing dating and lifestyle app among Christian Gen Z-ers and millennials by Match Group, which owns the app (as well as other dating sites like Tinder, Match.com, and Hinge).

Upward utilizes the phone location of users to show them matches that are within close proximity. Users who are within close proximity are shown to one another, and they are given the option to swipe left (if they’re not interested) or right (if they are interested). If both individuals indicate that they are interested, they receive a notification and a discussion is launched.

Sign-up and Searching

Focused businesswoman

Signing up and creating a profile on Upward is very easy. You will need to register using your phone number, as the app is only available for mobile devices. Once you enter your phone number, you will be asked to provide basic information, such as your name, sex, and Christian denomination.

You’ll also be asked to upload a profile picture. Adding as much detail and thought as possible is recommended to help increase your chances of finding better matches. You’ll also be asked about your preferences; what you’re looking for in a partner.

This information will be used to filter accounts and provide you with profile recommendations that are compatible with your interests.

Once you’ve finished filling out your profile, you can start using the app. If you prefer, you can upgrade to the premium membership for a fee, or you can browse the platform using the free features. From there, you can “like” a profile or “pass” them by.

Additionally, you can access more details about someone’s profile before deciding if you’re interested by clicking on the user’s picture. Profile info, such as bio and religious affiliations, can be used to help you make more informed choices.

You can look at different matches by simply clicking on the “matchup” menu. You can search for other Christian singles by the following traits/criteria:

  • Christian denomination, such as Catholic or Protestant
  • Religious preferences, such as what church user users attend and how often they attend mass
  • Personal interests and activities; hiking, mountain climbing, biking, swimming, music, art, etc.

You can see other users who are in your vicinity, and you can add those users to your “interests” list, where you will be able to see their profiles in detail and then decide whether or not you would like to proceed and get to know them better.

You can send messages to users you are interested in using the app’s secure messaging system and arrange meet-ups with other Upward users once you’ve been matched up with them. You also have the option to block users and avoid messages from users you aren’t interested in if you would like.

Profile Quality

Upward is a relatively new dating app; however, as mentioned above, thanks to an aggressive marketing campaign, combined with the fact that it was re-launched during the covid crisis, it took off rather quickly, and there was a great deal of interest. That said, there aren’t as many profiles on Upward as you might find on other sites, like Tinder.

Overall, the profile quality could be better. Are there good-looking, real people? For sure. But, there are a few reasons why we think that profile quality could be better. There don’t appear to be any issues with bots, scammers, or inactive accounts.

Firstly, many of the profiles seemed to indicate that the users were casual about their faith, dating, or both. This may be a good thing for some users, but for a Christian who is looking for a serious, faith-based relationship, this isn’t great.

The issue with profile quality was discussed above. However, there aren’t any filters or protections in place to avoid viewing profiles that many Christians might seem inappropriate, such as scantily clad women and cleavage. For some, this lack of protection may not seem like a big deal, but for those who wish to maintain a conservative Christian lifestyle and who want to uphold the teachings of Jesus by adhering to modesty, you can see how this can be problematic.

Thirdly, we were a bit displeased with the fact that many of the profiles didn’t seem to be robust. Similar to Tinder, the profiles were very short and to the point. For casual dating, the shortness and directness of the profiles might be a good thing but not if you’re looking to make real connections.

These faults don’t mean to criticize people using the app. On the contrary, they are criticisms of the Match Group, the owner of the Upward platform. All in all, however, there do appear to be quality singles on the app. We just aren’t positive that the mix of what appears to be casual daters makes the platform a good fit for Christians who are looking for opportunities to develop serious relationships.

Pricing

Alternatives

As mentioned, it’s free to register and create a profile on Upward, and you can continue using the site with the basic features; however, if you really want to access the dating app’s full potential, you will likely want to upgrade to a membership, which does cost a fee. The cost varies and depends on the length of time that you sign up for a premium or elite membership. You can also purchase profile boosts and super likes.

Pricing for the different memberships is as follows:

Premium:

  • 1 week – $8.99
  • 1 month – $14.99
  • 3 months – $7.49
  • 6 months – $5.99

Elite

  • 1 week – $17.99
  • 1 month $29.99
  • 3 months $14.99
  • 6 months – $11.99

Boosts

  • 1 pack – $2.99 each
  • 5 pack – $2.40 each
  • 10 pack – $1.80 each

Super likes

  • 5 pack – 60 cents each
  • 25 pack – 40 cents each
  • 60 pack – 30 cents each

While there are several different pricing structures, overall, no matter which option you choose, it’s easy to see how things can get pricy pretty quickly on Upward.

Summary

If you’re a Christian who is looking for other Christian singles who share the same values, beliefs, and goals, then the Upward dating app may be a good option to explore. Just be advised that if you are looking for a serious, meaningful, long-term relationship, you will likely have to weed through a good bit of what appears to be casual daters.

John Santana

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